Let Love In

“Cam, you are not sleeping on the floor especially after all that you’ve done for me today,” I tried to convince him. After Cameron had called my mom, we decided it was best for us to go to bed. No one was in the house but us which were a good thing. I didn’t want anyone else to know that I was drunk. Not only would I get in trouble, but so would Cameron. So here we were, arguing about who was going to sleep on the bed and who was going to sleep on the floor. Cameron immediately told me to sleep on the bed and that he’d sleep on the floor, but I felt bad. There was no way he was going to sleep on the floor.

“Emma, just sleep on the bed. I’ll be fine. Just go to bed, please.” He turned around, his back facing against me.

“Fine, but don’t come whining to me tomorrow that your back hurts.” I rested my head on his pillow and closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep.

During the middle of the night, my head began to throb and my stomach wasn’t feeling too good. I knew what was coming. I’ve seen it happen before in movies. I got out of Cameron’s bed and ran towards his bathroom.

I hung my head over the toilet, puking out the alcohol I had consumed at the party. I stared at the floating chunks and the odd color that was there. I spat into the toilet, trying to get rid of the disgusting taste in my mouth. I felt Cameron gather my hair and hold it up for me as I puked once more, getting rid of everything.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked up at Cameron, his eyes showed sincerity. I flushed the toilet, watching everything swirl around and disappear. He helped me up, giving me a hug. I don’t know what triggered me to do this, but I just broke down and cried on his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be alright,” he tried to calm me down, stroking my hair. But nothing was okay. What happened at the party was something that happened to me in the past. The past was the whole reason for why I act differently today.

We went back to his room and sat down on his bed. He held my hands and looked up at me, “You can tell me anything. I’m all ears.”

I bit my lip, hoping that the tears wouldn’t spill. They poured one after the other as I spoke. “His name was Jonathan. I loved him. With every bit of my heart, I loved him so much. He made me feel perfect for the longest time and I trusted him.” I paused for a few seconds. Was I ready to tell him? I took a deep breath and continued my story. “Then, there was the party. All I remember was having one drink after another. He tried to bring me upstairs but I told him I wasn’t ready for something like that. So, he just left me. When we broke up, I found out that he cheated on me for over half of the time we were together. I feel like I’ve lost my ability to love someone the way I loved him,” I began to sputter. “Not only did I lose that, but I lost my confidence. I feel like if I was perfect, maybe our relationship would’ve lasted. I can’t even bear to hear anyone point out my mistakes. I’ve lost everything, Cam. Everything.” I hung my head low, unable to look at Cameron.

“Hey, look at me,” he lifted my head up with his finger. He gazed at me, wiping every fallen tear with his thumbs. “Nothing in this world can be perfect. If he wasn’t able to realize just how amazing you are, then he isn’t worth your tears. Emma, you’re amazing the way you are. Don’t let anything or anyone’s negative opinion of you slow you down. And, you didn’t lose everything. You still have me,” he smiled, hoping maybe he’d cheer me up.

I wrapped my arms around him, thanking him for everything he just said. “Thanks, Cameron. I’m so grateful to have someone like you,” I sniffled.

We lay our backs against the headboard, staring at the wall. The room was dark; the moonlight was the only source of light. I rested my head on his shoulder and yawned. Slowly, I felt my tired eyes close.



The moment I woke up, my head was killing me. I opened my eyes, realizing Cameron wasn’t beside me. In fact, he wasn’t even in the room. I got up; looking at the clock beside me that read 9:05. I rubbed my temples, wishing the hangover would go away. I got off the bed and went downstairs to look for Cameron.

“Ah yes, sleeping beauty finally wakes up,” he said once I entered the kitchen. Sleeping beauty? I was nowhere near beauty. Not only were my eyes red from crying, but my hair was a disaster. “Here,” he handed me a mug of coffee followed by a plate that had a pancake on it. I smiled at it as it smiled back at me. The pancake had eyes made of strawberries and a banana smile. “How are feeling?”

“A little better, but my head is killing me. I’m glad I just let everything out.” I took a sip of my coffee and set it on the table. “Where’s your whole family? They weren’t here yesterday or today.”

“I think they said they were visiting relatives for a couple of days. I couldn’t go because the guys and I have to rehearse for our tour coming up soon.”

“Tour?” I frowned. Just when I reconnected with Cameron and met the rest of the guys, they were leaving so soon.

Cameron noticed the expression on my face and tried to cheer me up. “We still have a week together. We’ll try and spend as much time as we can with you. I promise.”

A week? A week wasn’t a very long time. I knew something was going to block my happiness from rebuilding. They’re going to be gone for who knows how long and I’ll be left alone again. I’ll have nothing.